


Thank You, Soldier

by UnicornPopcorn14



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Friends, Donnie's bad at picking friends, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mikey's insightful, NO TCEST!!, OCs - Freeform, Silly brotherly stuff, fluff and comfort, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29138856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornPopcorn14/pseuds/UnicornPopcorn14
Summary: With Donatello getting more and more familiar with the outside world, he makes some new friends on the way…And upon that he learns that some friends… are better off as enemies.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Man it’s been a while since I’ve written anything Rise related. I miss that hell of a good show! BRING IT BAAAACK!
> 
> _Ahem._
> 
> So, anyway; enjoy, review, all that stuff! ;)

A sound, a distinct sound was heard, with some ruffles on the way. The beeping stopped when a hand was placed on its source, then went for the bandana lying on the same table. Feet on the ground, shell straight, he went for the light switch, the bright light greeting him in an overly enthusiastic manner.

Another night…

Another chance to prove his worth…

To be included.

And Donnie was excited, to say the least, with his purple hoodie hanging from his shoulders, and the donut he’d snatched from the kitchen in his mouth. Yes, he was actually eating for once. Tapping nonchalantly and in a kind-of-happily way to the exit of his home, to meet up with his buddies and-

“Hey, Donnie!”

He jerked when the alerting greeting went off, along with the pacific humming he’d been emitting since the start of the night, to find non-other than his baby brother standing before him, a big smile on his face that was partially hidden under his orange hood…

Wait a minute, why was he wearing a hoodie?

Donnie regained his posture real quick, and before asking how or why, he went for what,

“What are you doing here, Mikey? You should be in bed, it’s too late.” He spoke as quietly as possible (yet still in a dead-pan tone), as to not wake the others up.

Mikey only smiled wider. Smugly, this time, “And so should you. Or are you gonna hang out with those ‘secret friends’ again?” An eyebrow is raised once he pulls off the quotation marks.

Donnie huffed in annoyance. His brothers can be a real pain sometimes. Especially when they’re interested in something he’s intending to keep a secret. And Mikey’s no exception. Heck, Mikey usually _is_ the real pain when it comes to these situations. Luring him away from the issue takes ages, and the little devil never forgets…

Until he figures it out…

“Positive. What’s in it for you?”

“I wanna tag along!” Mikey dropped down as he pleads, fists clasping each other.

The softshell sighed, “Mikey, this is precisely the twelfth time you’ve asked me this, and my answer has been the same: No, you cannot.”

“I know! But _this time_ , I’ll-”

“-Offer to stay silent and do nothing.” Donnie foresaw his brother’s statement, sending a hand on his forehead to rub it, “Look, brother, I understand how much you want this, but you can’t come. And you know why.”

Mikey pouted with a full cheek, “Because I’m too young…”

“Exactly. See? You’re getting me! Now, go back to bed, and _DO NOT_ _tell_ anyone. I’ll be back before the sun rises.”

Just as he turned around to head in a beeline for the doorway, a murmur caught his ear,

“I’snotfair…”

“What was that?” He turned around.

“I _said_ , it’s not fair! You get to have human friends, and I just have to stay at home knowing my brother’s out there with total strangers that he doesn’t even wanna share their names!” His voice got a bit too loud, “I’m not even that young! They wouldn’t mind another friend in the group, would they?”

“Keep. Your voice. _Down_.” Donnie hissed, “YES they would. And you do not know what they’re like. _I_ do. They’re… They’ll just…” He exhaled in defeat, “You don’t understand. You do not _need_ to understand! Just… head to bed.”

Before he had so much as gotten an answer, he exited his place, leaving his brother behind, unaware of the determined frown he’d just turned his back on…

**ROTTMNT**

“Oh, here comes Green Goo!”

Donnie smiled half-heartedly at the nick-name that had been given to him due to his “skin condition”, just as he landed from the rooftop and approached the group of three that was making a scene near April’s school. The street was uncharacteristically empty, given how the gang was there, which makes everyone avoid them and leave them alone. As always, Kace, the “leader” of the group, was picking on a ‘noob’ in the middle of the street, with the others cheering for him and laughing loudly. The said ‘noob’ was suddenly pushed by Kase, sending him on the ground with a hand shielding his pleading eyes that showed his broken-self.

In all honestly, the young turtle felt it was a bit much for someone to get harassed just because of their physical state or simply the way they were seen as ‘nerdy’ or ‘geeky’ (because, how-de-how did that bring up some _pleasant_ memories), but admitting this might lead up to biiiiig deals regarding his ‘rank’ in the group. He knew they’re going to call him a ‘softie’, and Donnie isn’t a turtle to get called that.

All halted once Jacob, Kase’s closest friend, exclaimed his greeting to Donnie, in which Kase glimpsed at him for a quick second then went on to approach Donnie, leaving the kid that was on the ground as if nothing had happened.

“‘Sup, nerd.” Kase gave an arm-wrestling-style greeting to him with a smile.

Donnie returned the greeting, just as powerful, “Kase.”

“Man, you took like, forever!” Li (the nicest one, in Donnie’s perspective) exclaimed, “What’s that all about?!”

“Family stuff.” Donnie simply shrugged, trying his best to not burst out some scientific terms that they might see as weird.

“Man, family sucks!” Li exclaimed with no effort what-so-ever, a disgusted expression on his face.

“Shut your tiny mouth, Li!” Jacob shouted in as he pushes his head to get in front of Donnie, “You got our Homework, Ryan?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

‘Ryan’, as in Donnie, nodded while searching for the notebooks in his Minnie-pack, “Ah, yes, it actually required a lot of researches and tim-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Kase cut off Donnie’s excited speech, while Jacob grabbed the notebooks to check what’s inside.

Jacob smiled approvingly, “Good job!”

Li smiled widely, “So, are you ready for tonight?!”

“You bet I am!” Donnie smirked.

The highschoolers stomped down the dim road, each one with a cool pose. Suddenly, Donnie stopped in his tracks, sensing something off. No, no, _smelling_ something all too familiar. Realization dawned over him as he whipped around himself in a terrified manner,

‘ _D-Don’t tell me…_ ’

There was a shadow looming over him from the top of the building.

‘ _Please, no…_ ’

“Ay, Ryan! What’s the hol’ up?!” Kase boringly turned around, along with the other two, for their eyes to widen simultaneously.

Donnie was cursing under his breath at the arm wrapped around his neck, staring with a twitching eye blankly at the ground, about to rage-quit any moment.

“Oh! So _these_ are your friends!” The turtle in orange exclaimed excitedly, freeing his stunned brother to approach the astonished trio, “Woooaaah! They’re _so_ cool!”

The trio visibly backed away from Mikey as if he was some kind of disease, grimacing in disgust. “Who the hell are you?!” Jacob asked rudely.

Mikey didn’t seem to notice that he was insulted, “Oh, I’m sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Mikey, Dee’s brother, over there!” Mikey pointed at the broken hunched turtle.

“Dee?” Li looked over at the two.

Mikey was bewildered, “Yeah, Donn-”

In a split second, Donnie rushed and clasped the box turtle’s mouth shut, earning a surprised squeak from him, “Ehehehehe,” He chuckled nervously, attempting to roll his eyes, “Oh my _Goooosh_ , it’s _that_ guy!”

Kase stepped forward with a look of demanding answers, “You know that kid, Ryan?”

Donnie noticed Mikey raising an eyebrow at the name he’d just been called, “That kid? Oh, no no no no no _no_! Von Ryan doesn’t befriend such _noobs_. I just happened to meet him on a subway, yesterday.” Donnie put a hand covering his mouth to whisper, “ _He’s so clingy_.”

“Ah, cool.” Li smiled as he turns around with the rest, “We’ll head off while you get rid of ‘im. ‘Kay?”

Donnie gave a hesitant thumbs-up, “Y-Yeah, ‘kay.”

Donnie waited until they were far enough, and took extra precaution by spinning to face the opposite end of the road. Mikey squealed and struggled once again as soon as they were turned. Donnie shrugged it off as he freed him to speak, “What in the name of Earth are you doing _here_!?” He hissed.

Mikey pushed him lightly to face him, “What was _that_?!” He asked, completely ignoring Donnie’s question.

Donnie ignored his as well, “I told you to get back to sleep, didn’t I?! What part of the statement didn’t you understand?!”

“I was bored, so I followed you,” Mikey said nonchalantly, as if it isn’t obvious enough, yet Donnie noticed that there was more into it, “Anyway, what’s really going on here?”

“Nothing! _Nothing_ is going on!” Donnie spoke between gritted teeth, “And I would’ve really appreciated it IF YOU HADN’T COME AT ALL!”

Mikey visibly cowered a little in his shell, his eyes glimmering as a result of tears forming over.

Donnie paused as a result, about to say something, but turned around instead, “Just… Go home, Mikey…” He walked away with a cold face, not waiting for an answer.

“Are you… ashamed of me…?”

Donnie stopped dead in his tracks, turning around with a shocked face.

“Are you ashamed of us?!” Mikey’s expression seemed like it had been twisted a 180 degrees, “Is that what’s really going on?!”

Donnie frowned sharply, “What do _you_ know-?!”

“APPARENTLY MORE THAN YOU!” Mikey shouted as he steps forward with a furious glare, catching Donnie off guard, “I’ve went through something like that, before! Where someone I thought was my friend began to use me like a tool to get what he wanted!”

Donnie backed away, having knowledge of what Mikey was talking about, “You’re ashamed of what you are around them!” The younger turtle continued lashing, “You never gave them your real name, never told them that you have three brothers! They know _nothing_ about you! Do you really think they’re real friends?!”

The turtle in purple contemplated at the ground with a grimace as if it had the answers to the mysteries of the universe. This wasn’t right. Mikey was just bluffing, wasn’t he? There was _no way_ that Mikey had noticed something off that quickly, (especially how oblivious the baby of the family could be sometimes). He was the science guy, the guy that knew the right from the wrong. The guy who would never do such a dumb mistake…

Considering that he’d done it before.

No, no, they weren’t _bad_. They were good guys. He did favors for them, and they thanked him. At least, that was what friendship was, right? A matter of exchanging favors-

“Look at those guys, Donnie.” Mikey cut Donnie’s hurled train of thought with a soft voice, “Then think of April, our _true_ friend.” Donnie did have a mentality comparison, and he froze. “See what I mean?”

Donnie was planted for a few seconds, before shaking his head slightly, as if trying to let those thoughts drop. April was just a magnet for weird. It wouldn’t be fair to call her a ‘standard’ type of friend. And it also wouldn’t be fair to compare a friend that has known them for years to a bunch of guys that he’d just befriended two weeks ago. Mikey just had no idea of what he was talking about.

“Mikey,” He spoke with a voice that was specialized for his baby brother, a tone that he’d rarely talk with to anybody else, “This is my chance to finally experience the _real_ world.” Donnie expressed honestly, in hopes to get into his baby brother’s thick skull, “I know you are concerned and I understand. This is a new experience for the both of us, but-”

“I know, but this isn’t the right way, Donnie…” Mikey stated before he could continue, “I just… don’t wanna see you hurt by those goons. And I mean…” Mikey put a flat hand on his plastron, “inside…” Finally, he was talking like the childish turtle Donnie knew of.

Still, this wasn’t the right place nor time.

“This has gone long enough…” Donatello muttered with sigh of distress, “We can speak of this later. As a matter of fact, they’re probably questioning what’s taking me so long-” He was about to turn around a second time.

“But I wanna stay!” Mikey exclaimed, which would have probably been enough for Donnie to realize that Mikey _meant it_.

But apparently, Donatello was too out of it to care at the moment, “Just… this once, Mikey! _Drop_ the subject and GO HOME!” He lastly lost his cool demeanor.

Mikey seemed to have lost it, as well, “COME ON, DONNIE! AFTER EVERYTHING I JUST TOLD YOU-” Donnie got startled once Mikey’s face twisted, looking past him, “Uh oh…” The younger muttered under his breath.

The softshell followed his brother’s sight, to see the gang of three creeping closer. It would’ve been normal if they weren’t in such a hurry, and worse, if Kase hadn’t been stomping angrily towards who he assumed was Mikey. His eyes widened, completely knowing what was about to go down.

Before Donnie could even catch his breath, Kase was already behind him, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?” Kase stepped in front of the purple clad without waiting for an answer, grabbing Mikey by his hoodie’s collar, “IS THAT KID BOTHERING YOU, RYAN?!”

Donnie freaked out, suddenly forgetting how to speak. He looked at Mikey’s face, to see him staring with a frown at him, no sign of fear on his face.

‘ _What’s he trying to prove?!_ ’ Donnie knew that Mikey could handle himself, and could easily get away if he wanted to. The fact that he was giving a challenging stare at him, meant that he wasn’t going to fight. And that was a bad sign…

It was the same fearless look his twin brother gave him while proving a point.

God dang it.

“LOOK AT ME WHILE I’M TALKING TO YOU, YOU CREEPY STALKER!” Kase shook Mikey’s little form in comparison strongly, in which Mikey obeyed, but instead of giving the scared look that Kase wanted him to offer, he frowned hatefully at him.

Kase growled, throwing Mikey on the ground with a thud. Mikey didn’t groan, nor did he grimace, he just kept his stare.

And Donnie kept watching, trying to understand why Mikey won’t just run the hell away. He stilled when Mikey glanced at him again, determination filled on his face.

There were two sides he had to choose from. On one hand, he _wanted_ to stand up to his brother, to stop his ‘friends’ (at this point, Donnie wasn’t sure anymore) from harming him in any way. On the other hand, though, he couldn’t stand the fact of being called weak or faint-hearted, or even earn a mocking laugh from the coolest kids in town. He’d lose his rank, lose his reputation, and –supposedly- his dignity. Not to mention the only human friends he’d ever gotten to make his entire life.

A sound shook the turtle from his thoughts, and he realized that Jacob has taken out his pocket knife.

‘ _Shell. Even on a kid?_ ’

“Look, you awful thing, you’re talking to the most popular group in town.” Jacob squatted to be on Mikey’s eye level, pointing the small knife at him, “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Everybody knows that.”

Mikey scoffed, “Funny. Never heard of you before.”

‘ _What are you doing!?_ ’ Donnie gritted his teeth, gaining Mikey’s attention. Mikey simply shrugged, as if answering Donnie’s thoughts.

Li and Jacob gasped at the mockery, as if it was the first one they had ever received. Jacob growled under his breath, while Kase held Mikey again.

“ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF US?!”

Mikey lazily rolled his eyes, pissing them off even more, “Wow, you’re slow.”

That was the breaking point for the three of them, as Kase threw Mikey harder on the ground this time, actually earning a grunt from him. Li tugged on his hood while laughing,

“Let’s see the pretty face lying under that hood, tangerine!”

Mikey was visibly trying to make him let go in annoyance, “H- HEY! Not cool!”

Donnie was watching the whole scene, his heart torn in two. Every time he wanted to interfere, he just stopped, thinking that, no, Mikey could handle himself, Mikey was just letting it happen because he _wanted_ to. To show Donnie how bad they were. But, they were standing up for him. Would that really be considered bad?

Li grimaced as Mikey’s tugs hardened, that he couldn’t pull it from him anymore. “Hey, come help me here! He’s got some freaky power!”

The three ganged up on the little turtle, attempting to take off his hoodie while laughing. Mikey was showing real signs of distress at the moment, with his teeth gritting and his shouts of ‘Let go!’ filling the place.

“Oh, shut it already!” Kase said, and Donnie’s blood went cold once he witnessed the punch Mikey took from the largest teen, nearly pulling him out of consciousness.

Donnie saw red, then couldn’t hold back anymore. “MIKEY!” He blindly ran up to Jacob, disregarding his near super-human strength and pulling him away with enough force for the teenager to meet a brick wall and break it. Kase and Li halted with horror in their eyes, as they successfully tore Mikey’s hoodie apart. They no longer saw a creepy stalking kid, but a huge mutant turtle staring up at them with a mask around his eyes while holding his cheek.

“H-He’s a FREAK!” Li exclaimed.

“NO! HE’S A MONSTER!” Kase trembled while saying.

“HE’S MY BROTHER!”

The duo turned around to finally realize that their third friend had fainted beside a collided wall. What startled them the most was that Von Ryan has taken his hoodie off, showing a large softshell turtle instead of the nerdy kid they both knew. He was holding his hands in front of the kid on the ground, his eyes staring at theirs, silently, as if hoping, or begging.

Kase and Li glanced all around the street, and there was no one to witness this other than them.

They were all alone.

“He’s my brother.” Donnie repeated, more quietly, “I know that this is hard to take, but if you just let me explain-”

“I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU, YOU LUNATIC!” Kase Screamed with all his might, pointing a shaking finger at him that matched the trembling of his body, “I’VE NEVER TRUSTED YOU ONE BIT! NONE OF US HAVE!”

Donnie’s breath hitched, trying so hard to remain stoic at the words that he’d just received, at the painful news that were blatantly yelled at him as if they were nothing much of an importance; yet his eyes widened without consent. And he lowered his head as soon as he felt the presence of his brother beside him.

Finally, he decided to take action. “Oh, yeah?” Donnie gave a smug smile, despite the clutch of his heart, throwing his hoodie for Mikey to catch it. He’d rather risk some crazy scientists going after him than his baby brother, “That just proves how right my brother was. MIKEY!”

“YEAH!” Mikey spun his nun-chucks, ignoring the hoodie Donnie had given him and choosing to stay without a disguise if his brother was going to do the same. He was slightly unbalanced because of the hard blow he’d received, but he ran nonetheless, going for Li, who was clearly confused.

Without Donnie’s bo, he was forced to go with a hand-to-hand combat against an enraged Kase, who kept babbling,

“We never needed you, anyway!” He sent a punch the Donnie’s easily avoided, “You were only good for doing stuff for us! You knew we were using you, right?!” He laughed, unsuccessfully punching him again.

Donnie frowned, going easy on Kase to hear out their true thoughts of him. As Kase kept going, Donnie’s wish of Mikey clinging to him sooner than today grew.

“We cringed every time we spoke about you, and even posted some of your stupid pictures online for everyone to laugh at! What kind of a thing doesn’t use cell phones, anyways?! Does your kind even know how to use it!?” He laughed loudly, then grimaced when Donnie dodged his attack for the millionth time.

Donnie himself was enraged by the insults, but kept on dodging. He now knew the reason why he and Jacob were always snickering at him while he wasn’t looking.

“I should’ve listened to Jacob when he told me how much of a freak he thinks you are! Turns out he was right, AND I’M GONNA TAKE REVENGE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM! HOLD STILL!”

The softshell scoffed, then looked back to see how Mikey was doing. He didn’t have the chance, however, because in that brief moment, Kase managed to successfully trip his feet and clutch Donnie’s neck before he could touch the ground. Kase thudded Donnie to a side of a building, knocking the air out of him.

"I'm sure the authorities will be happy once we hand you and your brother over. Imagine how much money we'd get!" For the first time, Kase was truly laughing, and Donnie felt a sickening twist in his stomach, the image of him and his brother strapped down on examination tables made him shiver slightly, “What kind of a cool kid stands up to his brother, anyway?! I should’ve expected such thing from a weak thing like you! And this freak is even worse looking than you are! YOUR FAMILY SUCKS!”

Donnie finally lost his cool, “YOU’VE MESSED WITH THE WRONG ONE, CHICKO!” He shouted, using Mikey’s famous insult, and swiftly kicked Kase’s unarmed belly with all the force he’s got. It was weak compared to his normal kick, since he was suffocating, but it still made the larger teen roll on the asphalt for a couple of miles. After rubbing his neck slightly, he approached Kase, who lay on his back, and put one foot lightly on him, leaning on his knees. The teen was totally out of it, and Donnie wondered why he was so feared in the neighborhood.

“What a giant marshmallow…” Donnie heard Mikey mutter as he was reproaching. He, too, stood above Kase with bored eyes.

“What happened to Li?”

“Oh, he just ran away. And I let him go, to be honest.” Donnie was actually glad, since Li had genuinely been nice to him except for when he was under the influence of the rest. “It just felt right…” Mikey finished with a shrug.

Donnie gave a small smile. He wanted to say so much, yet couldn’t bring himself to do anything other than lightly pat Mikey’s head. The other looked at him with a smile, and Donnie backed his hand immediately when Mikey gave a light hiss.

“I suppose we should head back… the sun is almost rising.” Before Donnie could take his foot off the collapsed Kase underneath him, the said teen groaned slightly while opening his eyes.

As soon as Kase did, his eyes widened with fear. He could swear he could see two pair of glowing eyes in the dark, and he screamed,

“NO! MONSTERS! AAAAAAA-” He wriggled under Donnie’s foot, stood up then ran for it. Donnie and Mikey stared at the direction he went in slight sympathy.

“Wow, we really broke this poor guy…” Mikey said humorously, copying one of Leo’s old statements.

“Yeah, you big goof.” Donnie chuckled as they both hopped up a building to run back home, “A couple years of therapy would fix him up, I’m positive.”

Mikey laughed lightly, jumping to the opposite roof, “I’m glad you did what’s right for you, Dee. For a moment I thought you were just gonna keep watching or something.” He chuckled at himself.

Donnie, however, couldn’t laugh that off. For his baby brother to even _think_ he was going to betray him was painful to hear.

“Hey, Mikey?” Donnie stopped on one of the roofs, causing his baby brother to halt in front of him. He balled his fists beside him, staring at the ground in slight shame. Why was this so difficult? “I-I’m… sorry. You were… right… this whole time.”

Mikey’s lips were apart, gaping quite comically. He suddenly gasped dramatically, approaching his big brother, “ _Donnie_ admitting he was _wrong_!? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER!?” He inspected Donnie’s face with playful eyes.

“Come on, Michael,” Donnie groaned, slightly annoyed, “You’re making this way more difficult.”

Mikey smiled and backed off, “I know, Donald. Don’t worry.” He simply said, “I forgive you.”

Donatello was still for a moment, before huffing with a smile while shaking his head. His baby brother forgave him faster than Raph could gulp down 26 hot dogs. This was enough to make the softshell’s heart at ease.

“Let’s go home.” Mikey suggested before taking off, and Donnie couldn’t think of a better idea. The feeling of home was suddenly too welcoming.

The sun’s bright sign of the start of the morning was vaguely manifesting as the two turtles hopped into their home’s entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had my fair share of toxic friends before (and still am dealing with ones nowadays) so the personalities of the OCs were pretty easy to personalize realistically!
> 
> If you are dealing with toxic friends, make sure to stand up to them, no matter what. With a simple word of a “no”, you’ll learn to express yourself better, and realize that your feelings _do_ matter. It’s sometimes hard, considering that we make sense of it when it is _too late_ most of the time, but it’s never late to change what you see yourself as wrong.
> 
> A toxic friend can be manipulative, verbally abusive, overly attached and/or sensitive. It’s hard to determine them from your actual good friends, but in terms of behavior, you can see how much a toxic friend wants you only for themselves, (or in some cases, doesn’t want you at all). They try and give you the idea that your family’s useless, or that your old friends are useless, or that _you_ , _yourself_ , are useless, so you can rely on them. So they can feel superior and somehow in control.  
> This can cause probable health issues for you, regarding your self-esteem. So please, when you see the signs, or feel that something is wrong, stand up to them or leave. Try starting a new page with new friends. Forget about all the mishaps and enjoy your life with the _true_ companions who care.
> 
> Stay safe, readers, and remember, YOU MATTER. Don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise!


	2. Chapter 2

“I just don’t understand you!”

Donnie scolded in annoyance, holding back his voice as to not wake the others,

“If you were bleeding, why weren’t you complaining like you would normally do?! I would have carried you back home, no problem.”

“It huuuuurts…”

“ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!” Donnie yelled in a whisper.

It turns out; the blow that Mikey had received was harder than expected. It was bleeding lightly and Donnie knew that his baby brother had moved up his mask a little to hide the flow. It also seemed that Mikey was actually holding back tears throughout the whole ordeal, since he now looked like he was about to let those pent-up feelings out any moment. Donnie sighed in the dimly-lit infirmary; hoping that this wasn’t one of Leo’s insomniac nights.

Mikey was oddly silent while Donnie was securing the bandage around his head, and when Donnie checked his facial expression, he realized the turtle in orange was tearing a little. Donnie sighed in exasperation. How he hated to be the only source of comfort…

“Hey, would you like to… um… watch a movie after we’re done…?” He asked, hoping that Mikey was in the mood.

“Yay, movie night!” Mikey burst a little loudly –and a little forcibly, Donnie noted, but decided to ignore it for now-, “But only JJ, Sails of Seven Galaxies!” Mikey gave a small smirk.

“Oh, come on!” Donnie whined humorously, “You knew I would’ve chosen Pluto Vacation, you twerp!”

“That’s why I’m getting to choose tonight!”

Donnie rolled his eyes. It seemed that the dark gloom surrounding them was beginning to wear off, already, “Alright, it’s a deal,” He paused, before a thought crossed his mind, “Let’s just hope Raph doesn’t find out…”

“Oh, he’d kill us.” Mikey said knowingly, “Even if he’s not our leader anymore, he’s still our big huggable bro.”

“Can’t argue with that…” Donnie smiled with the final knot. Soon, they were sitting in the TV area, piled up with pillows and blankets, both feeling cozy as silence took over them in order to enjoy the movie.

Donnie, however, had so much to think about, and rethink over. The movie was silent in his ears –this one wasn’t so great anyways- as the earlier scenes replayed in his head. How his brother had figured out the wrongness of the situation in mere seconds –from just a sentence Donnie’d said- while Donatello had been around them for _two weeks_. And it would’ve been longer if it wasn’t for his brother deciding to get clingy tonight. He scowled at the thought of spending one more second with these cowards, and scolded himself for being so oblivious; for not realizing that he was being used sooner, not to mention _by himself_.

Donnie glanced down at his maskless brother, who was leaning on him in a way that the purple lover couldn’t see his face. He hesitated for mere seconds, having something to discuss but didn’t really know how to approach it. He wasn’t even sure if Mikey was awake.

Looking over to the holographic screen, Donnie recognized this part as the ‘great ending’-as Raph puts it- of his brothers’ favorite movie. For once, he decided to pay close attention and find out what was so exquisite about it.

On the screen there were one of Jupiter Jim’s Allies –grey eyes, Donnie noted-, another human who seemed to be the antagonist somehow –yet appeared to have redeemed-, Fox tail and Jupiter Jim himself all on his spaceship.

“I forgot to thank you, captain.” The grey-eyed man spoke in composure, “You helped me reunite with my long lost friend.” He turned to look at his friend, “It’s such a shame I assumed you were trying to hurt me when you were only keeping me away from danger.”

The former antagonist gave a soft smile and a chuckle, “Heh. I wouldn’t say that I wasn’t jealous of the new people you chose to fight with over me. In the end, I guess I’m glad I interfered on time.”

“I would’ve been a goner if it wasn’t for you.” The other returned the smile, “Thank you… Daniel.”

The antagonist was visibly shocked, as if he hadn’t heard his name in a long time.

Jupiter Jim broke the scene with laughter, coming over to the two and crushing them with a hug, “Congratulation, soldiers! You finally found the secret ingredient to my lovely cocoa!”

Donnie’s interested face dropped back to dullness as the emotional music grew higher.

“W-What is it, captain?” Daniel asked.

“It’s… love!” JJ whispered the word divinely, and both soldiers teared up in joy. The scene shifted to the ship returning to earth; then the credits rolling.

Donnie stared up the screen, a roller-coaster of emotions turning inside his mind. A small smile then planted his lips. Of course Mikey would be deciding that this was the best movie. He was usually driven by emotional scenes –especially the ones resolving familial or friendship complications-. His smile then turned into a frown as he heard a small voice beneath him, and recognized it as sniffing.

“Hey… Mikey.” Donnie shook his shoulder slightly with a whisper, “Are you awake?”

“I love that movie!”

Donnie hadn’t expected his brother to answer, but grinned when he did. His brother was crying over the movie as if it was the most emotional one in the world.

His smile suddenly grew wider as he thought of an idea –that may or may not help with the strain that he’d been feeling in a while-.

“Wanna remake this scene?”

Mikey moved his head to look up at him with an eye-ridge, “Huh?”

“It’ll be fun!” Donnie muttered pushily, “I’ll be that grey-eyed man-”

“Toby.” Mikey says.

“Yeah, Toby. And you’re Daniel. How does that sound?”

Mikey seemed to be confused, but nodded nonetheless with a smile. He returned to his position,

“Alright. But only if we stay like this. I’m cold.” He stated.

“Fair enough.” Donnie agreed, bringing up his calm demeanor. Swiping his hand in front of his face in tranquility. He was gonna do this right.

He could hear Mikey snicker at his antics below him, and Donnie helplessly cracked a smile.

“Stay silent.” He ordered in anything but a harsh tone, repeating the same process only to get into a giggle fit with his brother.

“Okay, okay! I’ll go first!” Mikey said, seeing how hopeless the situation was. Donnie didn’t mind.

“Ahem.” Mikey cleared his throat, beginning, “Great salvation, sirs!” He imitates, deepening his voice, “I am glad we pulled that off!”

“Isn’t that Jupiter Jim?” Donnie questioned.

“Yeah! That’s the sentence he says right before Toby speaks. Just for a start, y’know?”

Donnie hummed, getting it. Now it was his time to speak,

“I forgot to thank you, captain.” He attempts in a serious tone that didn’t hold out any of the previous cheerfulness.

He was living the scene.

“You helped me reunite with my long lost… brother.”

He could feel Mikey’s bewildered stare at his dialogue change, but continued.

“It’s such a shame I assumed you were trying to annoy me when you were only keeping me away from getting used.”

Mikey stayed silent, looking at him, before Donnie cleared his throat loudly, basically telling him that it was his turn to speak.

“O-Oh, right.” His brother shook his head, finally getting where Donnie was coming from, “Heh. I wouldn’t say that I wasn’t skeptical about the new people you chose to hang out with over us. In the end, I guess I’m glad I… showed you the truth on time.”

“I would’ve been a goner if it wasn’t for you.” Donnie looked down at him with a soft smile, “Thank you, Mikey.”

Mikey returned the beam, nodding his head once. The two of them sat down in silence afterwards, barely taking minutes before they both went to sleep, the same smiles holding onto their lips.

It was hours later before they were awoken from their slumber by a raging Raphael and an interrogating Leonardo.

But it was fine. Donnie was fine.

He was surrounded with people that cared about him.

What's a better thing to wake up to?

**Author's Note:**

> Hope that's a tolerable ending. I could've expanded it slightly but I felt that this ending is much better. Just... caaaalm, after everything that's happened. Still, I can never be sure enough. I'm just here to right a meaningful fic, okay?! I LOVE writing these two! (Can anyone blame me, though?)
> 
> Love y'all!! <3


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